It’s been two years since Agent Carter was last on our screens but fans still talk about wanting to see it return for that cruelly-denied third season. Unfortunately, despite this kind of rabid support, the period spy drama set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe just didn’t earn impressive enough ratings for ABC to bring it back for a second time.
But is there a chance of a revival on some other network or platform? Well, it might be a long shot sadly, as one of the show’s executive producers has admitted that Agent Carter would be a tough sell. EP Jose Molina spoke to Den Of Geek and said that, though the creative team would jump at the chance of a return, the series’ history with poor ratings wouldn’t offer much of an incentive to any networks looking to pick it up.
So how about Netflix then, which already hosts a range of Marvel dramas? Well, Molina doesn’t think the streaming service would be the right fit, either, as Agent Carter wouldn’t gel with the grittier, darker world inhabited by the likes of Daredevil and Jessica Jones.
“I think the creative team would all line up to return — the cast, the writers, etc. — it would just be a matter of finding an outlet interested in airing the show. Given the series’ ratings when it aired on ABC, finding that outlet seems like a bit of a long shot. It would be lovely to think that Netflix (home to so many awesome Marvel shows) would pick it up, but their shows all share a common universe and timeline that Carter doesn’t share. Creatively these shows tend to be very dark, and Agent Carter just doesn’t have dark and brooding in its DNA.”
These are disappointing but very fair comments from the EP. It seems like star Hayley Atwell is of very much the same opinion, too, as she said recently that she feels like she’s closed the book on her time as Peggy Carter and would even think twice about coming back to the part if she was asked to reprise it.
Atwell has also added some more context as to why Agent Carter was cancelled. The actress explained that the decision came down to a choice between that show and her other project, crime drama Conviction. ABC decided to bank on the more mainstream genre and axed the Marvel series, which kind of backfired because Conviction itself only lasted for one season due to low ratings.